In the afternoon, Zhang Guodong sold out all the freshly picked vegetables and seafood he had caught a couple of days earlier, and was about to close up shop. (pm) But the last customer didn't leave immediately. Instead, he looked around and said, "Xiao Zhang, be careful lately, someone might cause you trouble!"
The customer was an elderly woman in her sixties surnamed Luo. Her children were well-off, but she preferred to buy groceries at the market herself. She was also one of Green Treasure Pavilion's original regular customers.
This absurd reminder startled Zhang Guodong, who immediately stopped in his tracks.
"What do you mean?" Zhang Guodong immediately asked humbly.
He had always been worried about Liu Haojun's retaliation. But he was running a legitimate business, and without evidence, he couldn't easily ask Fatty for help. After all, Liu Haojun was not comparable to Ming Ge from Haitong Catering; his connections were much more complicated, his company was much larger, and Liu Haojun had the title of "Outstanding Private Entrepreneur," and he'd even gotten a position as a member of the district political consultative conference—he didn't know how much money he'd spent to buy it, but in any case, he had already cleaned up his act.
When Zhang Guodong first heard that the man was a member of the district political consultative conference, he found it ridiculous, but the fat man said it was true.
Reminded by a regular customer, Zhang Guodong immediately thought of Liu Meng and his three henchmen who had escaped from Haitong. These were all rootless individuals, ticking time bombs.
These are all people he has offended.
But who exactly wants revenge?
Grandma Luo said, "I heard my son has heard that someone dislikes Green Treasure Pavilion and told me not to come to buy groceries personally. Anyway, Xiao Zhang, be careful; I heard the other party has connections—"
After the old lady muttered something, she didn't linger. Zhang Guodong immediately called her back, went upstairs, retrieved a blackfish from his spatial network, and brought it to her as a token of his gratitude.
This old lady is a very kind person. She's a regular customer after all; she actually did him such a big favor!
To explain this, I need to recount what happened. Her son, a businessman, saw that his mother was about to go out to Green Treasure Pavilion to buy groceries again. He suddenly remembered something and reminded her, worried that something might happen to her. But the old lady thought it over and decided to come anyway, so she reminded Zhang Guodong.
In the business world, people in a certain area mostly know each other and see each other all the time. When they are drunk, they may inadvertently reveal some information.
But it's always good to be careful.
After the old lady left, Zhang Guodong felt uneasy. He wondered if the old lady's son was among them. But then he ruled that out. Of course, he didn't pursue the matter further—who was targeting him? Asking might alert them.
Okay, is it very relevant?
Liu Haojun is probably the most suspicious, right? Among the people Zhang Guodong offended, he is the most likely, and also the one with "close connections." But after being thoroughly offended, Liu Haojun is still very calm now; something is definitely amiss.
Zhang Guodong raised an eyebrow, the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. He thought to himself, "Good, the sooner it's over, the sooner it'll be resolved." His parents were with his older brother in Sichuan, so he just needed to be careful in the provincial capital.
However, we need to be prepared. Just in case something happens to the property, how can we not give some kind of response? Zhang Guodong felt it was necessary to make some preparations; we can't be careless about security matters.
But it didn't take long for it to come true.
"Boss, I want to buy groceries!" The shop had just seen off an equipment assembler and the door had only been open for a short while when someone shouted from the first floor.
A customer has arrived!
But today's vegetables and seafood supplies are all sold out. This person must be late.
Zhang Guodong went downstairs, took a look, and was stunned. It was a heavily made-up, seductive woman dressed very provocatively. Moreover, she was a complete stranger, not a regular customer.
Currently, the store has limited supplies, and he generally does not serve new customers.
"Boss, why are your dishes so expensive? Oh dear, this fish is too pricey! Fine, give me one fish, and two pounds each of tomatoes and green peppers!" Before Zhang Guodong could even speak, the woman immediately started complaining when she saw the price.
Actually, the vegetable shelves and water tanks were empty. This woman didn't even look at the vegetables and seafood before shouting "Buy!" How generous!
Zhang Guodong smiled and politely declined, saying, "I'm sorry, this shop is not open to the public. Please go elsewhere."
These days, even regular customers don't have enough vegetables. Even when trying to attract new customers, Zhang Guodong only accepts referrals from existing ones. The supply of fish, shrimp, and crabs is relatively plentiful, and selling some helps alleviate the pressure on the Taoyuan Space pond.
But this doesn't apply to new customers who come alone; money doesn't guarantee success.
"Seriously? Your shop is clearly open, yet you're saying you're not doing business? How can you do business like that?" The woman immediately became dissatisfied.
Zhang Guodong laughed and said, "I'm sorry, as you can see, I've taken down the sign for this shop, so it's not open to the public. Please leave."
"What, you think I can't afford it? I'm buying all these vegetables today!" The woman immediately splashed water.
Zhang Guodong frowned upon hearing this, but remained patient, though his tone became less polite as he said, "Please leave. This place is not open to the public!"
"The shop owner is hitting me! The shop owner is molesting me!" But then the woman's eyes lit up, and she ripped off the meager amount of fabric from her suspenders, revealing her breasts. She immediately screamed.
Zhang Guodong was stunned. There really was such a person?
But this immediately ignited his anger; this was clearly someone looking for trouble. The Green Treasure Pavilion seemed to have been peaceful for a while, and now someone was coming to cause trouble again? But Zhang Guodong didn't think too much about it at the moment.
"Get out, and we'll call it even. I don't want to hit a woman—" Zhang Guodong said calmly, suppressing his anger.
"Rape—" The woman was a little scared when she saw Zhang Guodong's cold eyes, but then she thought, "What haven't I seen? What am I afraid of, some little brat who hasn't even grown up yet? That damn vixen (I don't know who she was cursing), I'll prove I'm more useful than you!" With that thought, she became confident and shouted.
There seemed to be passersby stopping outside the door. Zhang Guodong realized this wasn't a solution and immediately became furious.
"Get out!" Zhang Guodong grabbed the woman's head and dragged her out of the store.
But the woman's screams became even sharper, probably because she was hurt; Zhang Guodong was very rude.
"Damn, that woman is topless!" Someone's eyes lit up immediately. For these lecherous people, it wouldn't be right to ignore such a sight.
"This guy is too awesome! Daring to do something like this in broad daylight in the store?" Someone else was even more awesome. This kind of thinking probably made Zhang Guodong feel depressed.
"Stop violence! This is outrageous!" Those who couldn't stand it immediately criticized Zhang Guodong's actions.
When it rains, it pours.
"What's going on? What's going on?" Just then, a patrol officer happened to be passing by Green Treasure Pavilion on the street. Seeing the commotion, he rushed over.
"What's going on up ahead? Why is it so lively?" Coincidentally, several staff members from the Industry and Commerce Bureau also drove up to Green Treasure Pavilion at that moment. The team leader was a section chief surnamed Zhou, in his thirties. As soon as they got out of the car, they encountered this situation: a crowd had gathered, and a woman was screaming.
Upon hearing the discussion, one of the business administration personnel exclaimed indignantly, "This is outrageous! This is outrageous! How could he assault a woman in broad daylight? This man should be arrested immediately!"
Upon closer inspection, he discovered it was a woman. Faced with this situation, Zhang Guodong immediately assumed he was among the villains.
Section Chief Zhou nodded and said, "This person has gone a bit too far. Let's go, business is more important!"
Then the people from the Industry and Commerce Bureau came to Green Treasure Pavilion.
The shop door was wide open, but there was no one up or down, so the group went downstairs in frustration.
"Who is the owner of this shop?" Section Chief Zhou asked the bystanders.
"From the Industry and Commerce Bureau? Look, that's the shop owner!" Someone recognized Zhang Guodong's identity and immediately pointed.
This was a bit unexpected. When Section Chief Zhou saw that the owner of Green Treasure Pavilion was actually the perpetrator, he was immediately stunned.
"That guy's really unlucky!" I thought to myself.
This is a bit of a problem. If the police get involved, it will be difficult for them to intervene. In situations like this, the police usually take the lead, and the industry and commerce department can only assist. After all, the public security bureau has a wide jurisdiction; it's a force that uses excessive force.
And the police arrived here first?
what to do?
They were there to investigate Green Treasure Pavilion's tax and pricing issues, based on a tip-off. Someone had reported that Green Treasure Pavilion sold goods at prices ten times higher than other places, engaging in price gouging, and that the industry and commerce department should intervene. Somehow, the news reached the ears of the higher-ups.
So the leadership instructed them that they had to investigate.
As soon as the young police officer arrived, Zhang Guodong calmed down and released her. But the woman continued to cry and shout, demanding justice. Once Zhang Guodong calmed down, he realized this was no simple matter.
Who exactly is sabotaging themselves?
They actually used such a low-level tactic!
Liu Haojun? Aren't thugs supposed to mostly favor direct and effective methods—violence? Have they become gentler now?
"Take them away and take them back to the station for further questioning!" the young officer said to his colleague as soon as he saw that there were many people.
Zhang Guodong certainly couldn't just be taken away like that; the shop had solid evidence. Thinking of this, Zhang Guodong was even more grateful to Old Lady Luo. If it weren't for her timely reminder, he would have been in a difficult situation.
So he can still smile right now.
"Police officers, please wait a moment. Is this Mr. Zhang, the owner of Green Treasure Pavilion? Our Industry and Commerce Bureau is currently investigating Green Treasure Pavilion. Could this young man wait until we have finished our investigation before taking him away?" Section Chief Zhou stepped forward, showed his identification to the two patrol officers, and then spoke in a somewhat condescending manner.
He was a section chief, and in terms of administrative rank, the two patrol officers were of lower rank than him, which naturally gave him confidence.
So the two patrol officers hesitated when they saw the identification. The head of the Comprehensive Section of the Industry and Commerce Bureau? A deputy section chief! In a district of the provincial capital, his rank is half a level higher than that of a typical district or county.
We're all part of the system, so this advantage is much less significant compared to when dealing with ordinary citizens. Who knows, maybe one day the director of the Industry and Commerce Bureau will be transferred to the position of Public Security Bureau Director? It's not impossible.
Zhang Guodong, the person involved, was puzzled. Why were people from the Industry and Commerce Bureau involved? Was it a coincidence? Or were there two separate bureaus? He was a bit confused.
"Officer, may I close the shop first? If you're unsure about something, it's best to consult your superiors!" Zhang Guodong said to the patrol officer.
Zhang Guodong felt completely at ease as long as the police station was in his place. He thought to himself, "Is this his second time in jail?"
Upon hearing this, the young patrolman glared at Zhang Guodong. Seeing that Zhang Guodong was quite composed, he thought it made sense and quickly asked his superior for instructions.
P.S.: Second update! Two updates complete. Also, thank you all for your feedback and suggestions. Writing is very stressful, and with so many readers supporting Tiandao, the pressure feels even greater. I'm afraid I'll fail, so I need everyone's support, reminders, and suggestions even more. Thank you!
I'm still recovering from a cold, so I won't be coming tonight to rest.
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